What the Mask Hides
by GeminiMeteor
Summary: Draco: In a world where magic is rare and very few possess it there is a place where magic abounds, Alvarez. But, one day their world is shaken when dragons attack and render the ruling family a distant memory. Follow the lives of those affected by the infiltration as they try to find out the true meaning behind it, while keeping their own secrets from each other.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 The Beginning of Love and Adventures

(Mira's PoV)

I smirked inwardly. I honestly don't know how much longer they can keep this up. It was so obvious. They weren't even hiding it.

"U-uh…h-hi E-erza," Jellal stammered, his blush making his tattoo almost unnoticeable.

"H-h-hel-lo, J-jel-lal," Erza replied, her own blush rivaling her scarlet hair.

The entire cafeteria groaned. This happened every day. Erza and Jellal would make awkward small talk and then get angry at anyone who said that they liked each other, because they themselves were too nervous to admit it. And they both became very scary when they were angry.

Jellal and Erza got into the line for the food and the people in a 10-foot radius from them were careful to keep their mouths shut. Jellal and Erza both stood as close to each other as they possibly could without touching. And neither of them had the courage to had the courage to break the barrier that had been set around them since they had reunited a little over two years ago.

But they didn't need to find that courage, as someone was finding it for them. Or should I say some people.

I nodded to Laxas, who gave me an almost imperceptible nod in return. I giggled, yes, I was giddy with excitement. Everything was in place. But, that wasn't why I was giggling. Laxas was sitting across the cafeteria while trying to look inconspicuous. It wasn't really working. People were still giving him plenty of room. But, it worked on the two people it needed to, Jellal and Erza. They were too absorbed in getting their food while still trying not to touch the other.

Both of their plates now loaded with food, they headed over to the desert station. A sly smile grew across my face. It was almost time. I saw both of their faces light up as they say the last piece of strawberry cake left. Then their countenances darkened as they realized that only one of them could have the slice. Unless they shared it.

I barely held in my laugh as they both came to that conclusion. Their faces simultaneously started to heat up even more, as if their blushes were battling for first place.

'And this isn't even the best part,' I thought.

Jellal reached out and took the slice and then held it out to Erza. I could hear the entire cafeteria hold their breath. "Take it," Jellal when Erza hesitated, "I know that you like it even more than I do." Erza tentatively reached her hands over to the plate and gripped. Because of the unnatural silence in the cafeteria I could hear Erza whisper thank you to Jellal. I saw him smile at her, not his usual nervous smile but a heartfelt smile. And through her blush I saw her return the smile with her own, just as heartfelt. Then they realized that when Erza had gripped the plate she had also gripped Jellal's hands. They went rigid and there smiles went into surprised little o's, before both of their gazes dropped to the floor.

The entire cafeteria sighed in defeat, this escapade would go on. Phrases such as typical and of course seemed to ripple through the air. The, above it all, one of my acquaintances, I think her name is Kinana, said, "Wait a minute, there's something written on the cake. What does it say?" I will have to remember to thank her later.

Both Jellal and Erza cast a curious glance at the cake, their embarrassment forgotten for the moment before it all game rushing back. Because, on the cake slice I had o-so carefully written.

It's obvious that you two like each other.

Just get together already! 3

And then, both of them did something unexpected. They both fainted.

I heard Laxas say from across the room, "I think we overdid it this time, Mira."

And I thought, 'You think!'

(Laxas's PoV)

I have no idea why I let Mira keep dragging me into these schemes of hers. I mean, they always end up with either Jellal or Erza yelling their heads off at us and the occasional punch to the face. This time they literally just fainted. By the way, both of the first two situations hurt, I men those two can be loud.

I sigh as I head over to Jellal and pick him up, motioning for Mira to grab Erza.

As we walked down the hallway to the infirmary, I knew we were getting a lot of stares courtesy of the unconscious Jellal and Erza but, honestly, I didn't care. It would just be another rumor that floated around about me for a few weeks before dying off. I was just that kind of kid. I didn't do anything bad, except quite the opposite. I am just really tall and have a few muscles from the bullies picking fistfights with me all the time. My mom had always taught me to have the manner of a gentleman before she died. So, I honor her by doing just that. I behave all the time and always treat elders, girls and women with respect.

Speaking of girls, I peeked over at Mira to see how she was handling the stares. She is skipping (as well as she could while carrying Erza), humming, and smiling as wide as a certain pink-haired idiot I know. I should've known she would still be in high spirits after that matchmaking scene she pulled. They are her favorite pastime after all. Well, that and cooking.

As soon as we reached the infirmary, I knocked on the door loud enough to make Mira junp, but it was necessary. The nurse often takes naps during the day, but only a few people know this as not many people visit her (fistfights, remember, I have to take the people who challenged me here). After a few seconds the door opened to reveal an aging woman with dull, pink hair and a bitter expression, probably from me waking her up from her nap.

"What do you wa-?" she started before her eyes landed on the unconscious Jellal and Erza we were carrying. Her expression quickly changed from bitter to worried. "Oh my Gosh! What happened to them?!" she all but screamed at us.

"Don't worry," I said, "They're fine." She visibly relaxed. I continued, "Mirajane just got carried away with her latest matchmaking scene and they both fainted at the 'revelation' that their feelings for each other were returned." I used extra emphasis on revelation. It was clear that the entire school knew they liked each other. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the entire world knew. Mira waved shyly at Porlyusica. "She doesn't know," I thought. I leaned over and whispered in Mira's ear, "Porlyusica is actually really nice, and the rumor floating around school that she hates people is false. In fact, she really likes messing with people, just like you." As I leaned back up she smiled at me in thanks and turned to greet Porlyusica.

I idly listened to their conversation until one thing stood out for me. "So, what did you two do this time to _poor_ Erza and Jellal," Porlyusica asked Mira. I blinked a few time. "How did you know that I was involved?" I squeaked out.

"Well, let's see," she started, listing out her reasons for knowing that both of us were involved, "first, if you got them to faint it must have been pretty big, she would've needed help. And, second," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "you are the only one who would help her in her crazy schemes as you have a pretty big soft spot for her."

"No, I don't!" I screamed out, completely forgetting that Mira was right next to me.

"You don't what?" Mira asked 'innocently', batting her eyelashes at me.

"Nothing!" I quickly snapped back. I wasn't going to fall for that trick a second time.

"Okay," she said her tone implying that she would be pressing me for answers later.

"Great," I sighed, "Thanks Porlyusica." My voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"You're very much welcome," she replied, not an inch of sarcasm in her voice.

"Now," she said, her tone instantly business-like, "Let's see what I can do for the lovebirds."

'I can't believe that she said that with a straight face,' I thought while carrying Jellal over to the second closest bed. I left the closest for Erza so that Mira wouldn't have to carry her as far. I laid Jellal down and looked back to see Mira struggling with Erza, probably because of all that strawberry cake that Erza eats. I sighed and went over to her. I took Erza from her arms and was about to set her on the closest bed when Mira stopped me. I set Erza down and looked over at her with a question on my lips to see her eyes shining with excitement. 'Uh-oh,' I thought, 'that face is extremely cute, _wait what am I thinking_ , this can only spell trouble.'

"Let's put them on the same bed," she said excitedly.

"Why in the world would I do that?" I said back. I sure didn't want a furious Erza or, God forbid, Jellal on my back.

"Come on," she begged, "Pleeaase."

I was about to say no when I saw her face. She has made her already big eyes bigger and had jutted her bottom lip out a bit. 'Crap,' I thought, 'she knows just how to pull my strings. That is the cutest face I have ever seen her pull.'

I looked over at Porlyusica for help but I saw in her eyes that there would be no help coming from her. Her eyes held playful amusment and excitement with knowing mixed in with the other emotions.

Just perfect.

Why can't I have normal teachers?

"Fine," I said.

"Yay!" she exclaimed.

"But if they wake up and start yelling, you have to take the blame," I told her.

"Why shouldn't I?" she retorted, "I'm not scared of them."

But one look at her slightly trembling hands told me otherwise. I looked into her eyes and saw all of the determination in there covering up a small pocket of fear. Something stirred within me. Confusion? No. Pride? Maybe. Admiration? Likely. Probably it was a mix of the last two. 'Oh man,' I thought, 'this is going to be all kinds of trouble. I think I'm falling for Mira, the matchmaking she-demon of the school.'

"How about this?" I proposed, picking Erza back up, "I'll take Jellal and you take Erza." I set her down next to Jellal and turned to face Mira. I was still on one knee from setting Erza down and I had a clear view of her eyes.

They were a sea of disbelief, but even the immense waves of it could not conceal the raw relief and gratitude I saw in there. "Then it's settled," I said. I knew I had made the right choice.

(Mira's PoV)

I couldn't believe my ears. Did Laxas, the center of more rumors than I would care to count that run around our school, just offer to take a tongue-lashing from Jellal so I wouldn't have to for my idea. Erza may have a short fuse but her anger comes in short spurts. Jellal on the other hand, is more laid back but when he gets angry I swear the entire school trembles. Laxas is turning out to quite the soft-spoken kind young gentleman. Maybe we can be good friends.

I'll just have to wait and see.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry I didn't put any notes on the first chapter but, I was really excited to get the first chapter out there. I made a mistake in the first chapter by the way. I said that Laxas was thinking that Mira was smiling as wide as a certain pink haired idiot he knew, but in this story, no one has met Natsu or Lucy yet. Sorry. I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, they belong to Hiro Mashima. (Oh and by the way, the content of the story will get progressively better as I get more attuned with it :-P)**

Ch. 2

(Erza'sPoV)

As I saw Jellal crumble to the ground, my mind immediately went to the worst, and I was sent to the place that only my dreams dare to go. My childhood memories.

The only bright spots for me then were my friends, my brother Simon, the guard that helped us escape and trusted me enough to give me his story, and my best friend, who for some reason never gave anyone his name. I called him Seigran, the hero from my favorite book as a child, because that was who he was to me, a hero that chased away some of the darkness we were forced to endure. Some of the darkness that my mind is visiting now.

 _As I run through the alley, I tug on my adoptive sister's hand to get her to run faster. When I see that she can't run anymore I look around for the best hiding spot for her. The flames bounce off my eyes as I spot a medium-sized crate that is just big enough for Sima. I quickly get her into the box and hand her one of my sleeves, which I had just ripped off my already tattered shirt as a protection against the smoke. As I was telling her to keep quiet, I heard the pounding footfalls of those trying to capture us. As my mind raced for a solution, they got even closer pushing me into panic. I then realized that there was only one way to save Sima. I turned to her and whispered, "Stay here, stay put, and most of all, stay quiet, no matter what happens to me." She started to protest but I gave her a firm shake of my head and a reassuring smile. "As long as you're safe and free," I told her, "I will be also." I smiled at her one last time and took off in the direction of the footsteps that were causing so much pain and anguish. I slipped into my acting zone, which I had perfected years ago to survive on the streets before Simon and Sima found me, as I stepped into the enemy's view. I stood there looking petrified until I was sure that they saw me. I put on a face to give the impression of just coming out of a daze and then took off at a run. Looking over my shoulder I saw the creeps chasing after and veered away from where Sima was hiding. I heard them say things like, "Look, another slave!", "Get her!", "She looks like the one that we were ordered to grab!", and the occasional "Run faster you morons!" it was quite amusing actually. I knew these streets so well that that I knew that they would never catch me fairly. Emphasis on fairly._

 _As I rounded yet another corner, I heard one of the creeps yell halt; I thought I had left them all in the dust. I yelled over my shoulder in response, "And why should I?!"_

 _His answer, though, froze me in my tracks._

 _"You will halt if you want him to live."_

 _Dread raged through my blood at who the 'him' could be dawned on me. I turned around slowly, hoping with all of my heart that the man was bluffing. But once again, my bad luck prevailed. Limp in some psychotic idiot's grasp was Simon, my other adoptive sibling. And guess what, the psychotic idiot has a knife at his throat._

 _"Now," the psychotic idiot started, laying out his terms, "first, you will come with us and second, you will give us no trouble. If either of these are not met than your brother will die."_

 _After the initial shock of seeing Simon, my big, tough brother, unconscious in some skinny guy's grip, I finally realized what the man had said._

 _"You wouldn't kill Simon," I said, calling his bluff, "You need him too. Don't think for even a second that I didn't notice that you guys are taking all the children who can walk."_

 _"You're very observant. I'll give you that," he chuckled, "but you are also extremely naïve."_

 _"And what proof do you have of that!" I fired back, annoyed with this entire situation._

 _"You only have the slightest grasp of their plan. Because, you see, their real target is not the children of Rosemary, though they are a nice convenience to them, but you."_

 _I stumbled back a few steps in shock and I'm pretty sure I cursed because the man chuckled a bit. "Why the heck do you want me?!" I yelled while inside I was panicking, 'How do they know? No one knows, not even Simon and Sima.'_

 _"As if you didn't know," the man said. I sweat dropped. "They need you for your incredible flexibility to retrieve something."_

 _"Cursed gymnastic tournaments," I muttered, loud enough for the man to hear. But secretly, I was relieved. 'Phew, they don't know. My secret is safe.'_

 _"Yes, now will you please come on quietly? If I don't get back soon they will kill her," he said with a hint of pleading in his voice._

 _"I'll come with you," I said, my voice eerily calm, "If you promise me two things." He nodded for me to continue. "One, you promise not to harm Simon, and two, you answer some questions I have." He was about to protest but I cut him off. "If any of the answers to my questions are classified, then by all means, ignore those questions. I will not press any further on those topics if that is the case. If both of these terms are met, then I will come quietly. If only one of them is met then I will come but I will be a little devil. If neither of them are met, then you will never catch me."_

 _After a minute, the man answered, "Both of you terms are reasonable, now come along."_

 _I sprinted over to the man and grabbed at Simon, needing to know if he was okay. But, the man pulled Simon back and slapped me hard enough to send me to the ground. I heard him snarl like an animal._

 _From my position on the ground I got very clear view of his eyes. They were blood red and held an emotion that signaled people to get away if they valued their lives. I could have sworn that they were onyx a few seconds ago and held a sort of warmth one does not expect in the people that are trying to capture you._

 _But as soon as I noticed that, his eyes reverted back to normal. I could see in them that he had no control over what had just happened when I saw the remorse that it caused him._

 _He crouched down next to me and blurted out, "I'm so sorry. I have no control over myself when that happens. Are you okay?"_

 _"Yes, I'm okay. One doesn't survive on the streets from the time they were a toddler to when they are seven, when a nice family took them in without learning a few skills, like how to take a hit. I have made sure to never forget the skills I learned. Such as honor. I made you a promise that I would not fight you guys if you didn't hurt Simon and answered some of my questions and you have promised both of those. And I feel as if I can trust you. But, I need to see how Simon is doing. I'm worried about him. He's always been the driving force in our little family ever since his and Sima's parents died, we can't lose him."_

 _"Of course," he said good-naturally, "do you think that you could perhaps tell me what this Sima looks like? She seems really important to you."_

 _"Why do you want to know that?" I said pensively. I couldn't dispel the feeling caution I had taken up since these creeps invaded our town, even if this guy gave off a kind and trusting aura._

 _"I know what you're thinking, and I have absolutely no intention of using Sima against you. I don't like what these creeps are doing any more than you do, but they have someone special to me in their clutches and the only reason that I am taking you to them instead of helping you get away from them is that they specifically sent me to get you and if I come back empty-handed then they will kill her. I would help Simon get away from them," he continued, "but he can't even walk and if he was found by the creeps then they would hurt him even more and then bring him back to their base so it's better if I just take him. Besides, if I were you I would want at least one person that is not a complete stranger to help me live through the throbbing despair that emits from their child labor camp without going insane. Now back to Sima. I want to know what she looks like so I can come back to you and tell you if they captured her or not. I figured that you would want to know."_

 _I was taken a back. This man was probably nicer than almost everyone I had ever met and yet all this had happened to him. A person special to him was taken and used to get him to do what they want like a common tool. And I'm not sure but, I'm pretty sure that he is somewhat possessed if what happened earlier with his eyes was anything to go on. He was kind, he didn't deserve this. But, he makes the most of it and tries to give hope to those whose luck has cast them into a miserable life. He could be trusted to do the same for me. "Sima is a little younger then me but at least twice as smart as most people her age. She had long, dark hair the same color of Simon's and piercing eyes that feel like they could see into your soul. She has a serious no nonsense attitude and her figure is actually a lot like mine because, unlike Simon, she has a body suited for evading and focused hits other than power-packed ones, but she still has a lot of power. If she was captured then the other kids will probably be giving her plenty of room because she has such a serious aura, except for Sho, her best friend, and I saw him get captured earlier so if he finds her then there will be at least one person around her. Please tell me if she got captured or not." I fixed my puppy dog eyes on him, but I didn't need to. He was already going to help me._

 _He answered, "Of course I will tell you if she was captured or not. She's your sister. If I was in the same place with my brother than I would definitely want someone to do the same for me. Oh, and here. You can wake up your brother now." He handed Simon over to me._

 _I laid Simon down and started shaking his shoulders, eventually growing frustrated and slapping his cheeks. I heard the guy chuckle and threw him my hardest glare. It would normally make even Sima shake in her boots, but he just stood there unperturbed by it. Amazing. "You've got a pretty short fuse there, don't you?" he said. To my surprise I found myself chuckling. "Yeah, I do. Don't I?" I answered._

 _A groan came to my left and I whipped my head back to Simon. His eyelids fluttered and then popped open. I leaned back quickly as he shot up gasping. As soon as he calmed down, I slipped his arm over my shoulders and hoisted him to his feet. I knew I was going to struggle as Simon had a lot of muscle and was in turn pretty heavy but, I didn't care. Then as if sensing my struggle the man took Simon and held him in his arms as easily as if he was carrying a little kid. I trusted him so I didn't put up a fight but I thought, 'Honestly, the things this guy can sense.'_

 _The man leaned over to whisper something in Simon's ear and I was just able to make it out. He whispered to Simon, "Hey Simon? Why don't you rest a bit? You must have gotten hit pretty hard to be out that long." I pursed my lips in confusion at that. I thought that this guy was the one to knock him out. The man continued, oblivious to me. "Relax; Erza will be safe I will make sure of that. Also, I will protect Sima if I find her as well." Simon mumbled an okay before drifting off._

 _He turned around and said to me, "I found him like that, so will you please stop looking at me that way. And could you tamper down your thoughts, they're grating at my ears when they're at that decibel." He saw my dumbfounded expression, "I was taught to hear thoughts by a kid at the labor camp while I was helping him come up with an escape plan. I try to help all the kids I can escape. And no, I never asked how he learned to hear thoughts." He said, once again hearing my thoughts._

 _"Ookaay." I said, still a little uncomfortable with the fact that he can READ THOUGHTS!_

 _"You'll get used to it," he said, smiling. "Oh, and I don't read thoughts. I can hear them."_

 _I blinked a few times before realizing that he had heard my thoughts_ again!

 _"What was your first question?" he said, "You should probably ask your questions while we walk to our destination. Fire away." We started walking, the man leading the way._

 _"What type of magic do you use?" I said, deciding to go ahead and get the question out there. Honestly, this guy's aura was so strong that I knew that he was a magic wielder before we even started talking._

 _I expected him to balk in surprise, stutter, and stumble a bit in his walking, but he did none of those. He simply sighed and muttered, "I expected you to ask that one first." Before adding "It takes one to know one."_

 _I smirked and replied, "Guess I dug my own hole with that one, huh?"_

 _"Yep," he said. "and I'll let you know that I am a powerful enough mage to know what type of magic a person uses by only looking at them, so you don't have to tell me."_

 _"I figured, you aura is at least three times as powerful as mine. But, my first question still stands. What type of magic do you use?"_

 _He hung his head and replied, his bangs hiding his eyes from my view. He obviously knew that my power as a mage was enough to have the ability to read people's emotions by their eyes. After a few seconds he replied, "I cannot say that I am proud of my magic. In fact, it has caused many people suffering when I couldn't control it. Do you still wish to know the identity of my magic?"_

 _"Yes," I replied, "You are the kindest man that is in league with these creeps, even if it is by force. I wish to know what kind of magic you have that would cause them to come after you, totally disregarding your kind demeanor."_

 _"You know a lot of words for a nine-year old," he pointed out. "Sorry. The only book I owned on the street was a dictionary," I admitted._

 _He chuckled before answering my question. "I specialize in dark formation magic, (Aka, such as the power to create demons when it is coupled with some scientific research) but I can use other forms of dark magic, such as offensive and defensive dark magic. Also, my magic, when combined with a light magic, can create almost any nonliving object. But, I do not know any light magic. Oh, and I have a bit of dark death magic from the remains of a curse."_

 _My thoughts were racing a mile a minute. 'How can someone so nice have such a dark magic?' 'Where did he learn such magic?' but, above all of my other thoughts was 'How has he not succumbed to his magic when he does not know any light magic?!'_

 _The man's pained smile was enough to bring me back to reality and I immediately felt like an idiot when I remembered that he can hear thoughts. "Sorry, it's just that I found an old book on ancient magic a while ago. And while I mostly only read the parts that had info on ancient armors, I did skim the other parts of it." I had already accepted the fact that he knew what type of magic I had._

 _"It's all right," he said, "It is pretty hard to understand how my personality and magic reside in the same body without them battling without knowing that I do have a light but that it is just not part of me. Someone close to me uses a pure light magic. And if you want I can tell you how I ended up with this magic."_

 _"Yes please, I would love to know. I would be amazing to know some of the real life intricacies of ancient magic. Oh my gosh! I completely spaced! I never got your name! Would you mind telling me it?"_

 _The man smiled at my little excitement rant. "Since you have trusted me," he said, "I will trust you." He paused for a few seconds before gathering himself, "My name is Zerif."_

 **So what do you think? The next chapter will have a short scene with Mira and Laxas and then will continue on with little Erza and Zerif. Hope you like it. :-P**

 **Draco**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the slip up in the Author's notes in the last chapter, but this chapter is only in the present time. None of Erza's memories in this chapter. :-P**

Chapter 3

(Laxas's PoV)

Mira and I stayed in the infirmary until Porlyusica shooed us out. As soon as the door closed, Mira grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the nearest empty classroom. Which just happened to be the Music classroom.

I was about to ask what the heck this was all about when she turned towards me and I caught a certain gleam in her eye. I swallowed thickly. 'Crap,' I thought, 'I was hoping that she would forget about that.' Of course with my luck I'm just glad that she wasn't asking me about it in front of the entire school.

"You don't what?" she asked, her tone implying that she knew that I already knew what she meant.

"I already told you nothing, didn't I?" I said, clinging to a chance that was basically nonexistent that she would stop her interrogation and be satisfied with that answer.

"We both know that that is a lie and you already know that I am not going to be satisfied with that answer," she said crushing both of my hopes. But, me being me, I totally brushed past the fact of my crushed hopes and focused on something that had caught my attention. She had seemed to know what I was thinking. How could she do that?

Then she said something that shocked me to the core. "I can read emotions through a person's eyes. I saw the desperation of you clinging to hope in your eyes and just know saw the confusion in them."

I stood there gaping like a hooked fish while my mind ran the Indy 500. 'She can read emotions!? Through people's eyes?! I thought I was the only one who could do that! Maybe she can tell me why I can do it. I mean, she said it so easily and confidently so she must know why we can do it.'

"Wait a minute," said Mira, dragging me out of my thoughts, "why do you have that emotion in your eyes? It looks like…relief?

'Crap, should've hid my emotions better.'

"Yeah," I answered, "I was wondering if you could tell me how you see emotions through eyes. I have always wondered why I could do it." I couldn't seem to stop talking. "At first, I thought that everyone could do it. But, then I realized how ignorant others always seem to be and concluded that only I could do it. And now here you are, with the same ability, and a confidence about it so I figured that you must know why it happens." I finally shut up and looked at Mira to see her mirroring that expression of a hooked fish that I had had on only a few seconds ago.

Her eyes held disbelief and a little bit of fear. "Are you okay?" I asked, "Why are you afraid?" She didn't respond. I grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her. Her eyes blinked as she came back from wherever she had gone.

"Why are you shaking me?" she asked.

"I asked you if you okay and why you had a little bit of fear in your eyes and you weren't responding. So I started shaking you."

"You truly saw fear in my eyes?"

"Yeah. I already told you that I can do that when I asked if you knew why we could do it. For some reason I couldn't shut up so I told you I could do it as well." I said back, a bit annoyed at her slow uptake.

"Hey! I'm just a bit astonished that you show no signs of having _it_ but can still read emotions in other's eyes. And as for slow uptake, you still haven't even tries to hide your emotions since I disclosed the fact that I have the same gift as you do. Pot calling the kettle black much."

'Crap, I did it again. How can this girl distract me so easily?' I thought. Then, realization of what she had said hit me. "What is _it_?" I inquired.

She stiffened.

(Mira's PoV)

'I can't believe that this guy can read emotions through a person's eyes. It's a gift that only those with unnaturally high magical energy have and I don't detect a single bit of a magical aura around him, so he shouldn't even be able to read emotions through a non-magical person's aura. In fact, I don't detect any aura around him. Wait! Why the heck doesn't he have an aura?! Even non-magical people have an aura. Even the most basic of wizards can read auras, but since wizard's auras consist of magical energy, you can't read their emotions through it. And he saw fear in me, the fear of having Erza find out that I revealed a little too much to a non-magical person. Or is he? He said that he can read people's emotions through their eyes but he gave no hint of knowing about how to read people's auras, therefore, he has no magic. Or does he? Ugh! This is so confusing!'

"What's so confusing?' Laxas asked me, making me realize that I had said that last part out loud.

"Nothing," I replied, "except for the fact that you don't have an aura and everyone has an aura."

"What's an aura?" he replied, his eyes saying that he was clearly confused.

'Okay, so he doesn't have any magic training. That's the first thing they teach you about.' I thought.

"I'll explain later. But, for now my first question still stands," I said, trying to buy some time until I could consult the master.

"Not this again," he groaned.

I smiled 'innocently'. "Yes this again. And I want the truth."

"No."

"What was that?" I said. He had to know of the things I can do when I'm mad and yet he still stood his ground. "You should know what I can do when I'm mad. People fear my demon side more than they fear Erza."

"Yes, and I respect that you are willing to stand up for what you believe in, but I have had years of practice with the idiot so called tough guys that think it is a good idea to challenge me. I know when and how to stand my ground. Even your demon side will not cause me to lose my resolve."

'Amazing,' I thought, 'he doesn't fear me. This is entirely new for me, and I actually kind of…like it? Perfect. This will make things so much more confusing.'

Finally getting myself together I said, "You, Laxas, have guts. No one has ever stood there and said that they are not afraid of me without so much as a flicker of fear in them. I would like to see how you can do so. Can we be friends?"

I looked in his eyes and saw his emotions warring inside his eyes. He was basically yelling the whole argument inside his head at me. He really should better at hiding his emotions in his eyes, but in his defense he never has met anyone else with the gift of reading emotions.

'Really, she just threatened me to tell her what Porlyusica told me and now she wants to be friends simply because I stood my ground. Girls are so confusing. But, remember,' he chided himself, 'you told her yes to help her with her scheme in the first place and so you got yourself into this mess. Being friends with her can't be any worse than the situation that I'm in now, so okay.'

"Okay," he told me, "We can be friends."

"Yay!" I exclaimed. I was so happy that I ran over to him and gave him a hug.

And my luck being my luck, that was the exact moment that Porlyusica opened the door to get us.

As she opened the door she said, "Laxas, Mira, I have news on Jellal and Erza!" then she spotted us. "Wait, what are you two doing?"

"Nothing." We both replied quickly, stepping away from each other. I peeked over at Laxas and saw that there was a slight pink dusting his cheeks, knowing that my cheeks looked the same. She just had to pick that moment to come in didn't she?

"Okay?" she said, her voice a little strained, "come on, I need to tell you something."

Now this alarmed me. I had only truly known her for a few minutes, but I got the feeling that she was like me, liking to mess with people's love lives. Well, except when she was tending to someone. Then she was kind of cold and hard. Besides, Laxas had told me she enjoyed massing with love lives earlier.

"Is something wrong?" I asked worriedly, noticing that Laxas had said the exact same thing. So it wasn't just me.

"Yes and no. Just come on." She said tiredly and walked out towards her infirmary.

We both looked at each other, startled, but that was a mistake. Once we saw in each other's eyes how much Porlyusica's answer had alarmed us we both became terrified of what she would tell us.

We hurried down the hallway and entered the infirmary. Jellal and Erza were lying where we had left them on the same bed. A quick glance at Jellal set off no alarms in my head so I looked at Erza. Something was off, my head screamed at me. Erza looked frightened; she had curled up to Jellal and was clinging to him as if her life depended on it. I'm pretty sure I heard her whimper. I frowned and turned to Porlyusica and said, "Why does Erza look so frightened?" Laxas had spoken at the same time as me but he had asked, "Shouldn't they have woken up by now?"

That set off the alarms. He was right. I had seen someone faint before and she had woken up only a minute after having done so. (It was from Gray finally recognizing his feelings for Juvia and telling her so. Of course, it had taken him seeing Juvia nearly dying to realize it. He is so dense in the category of his feelings. I had nearly had a heart attack when that girl fainted.) But they had both been out for at least a quarter of an hour.

I was still staring at them, trying to figure it out for myself, when I heard Laxas tell Porlyusica to "Please explain." That no-nonsense tone was kind of scary, and I don't get scared easily.

Porlyusica fiddled with her shirt for a few seconds before answering, her eyes still on her shirt. "Erza is fine. My tests lead me to conclude that she is simply revisiting some of her deepest buried memories. She should wake up when she finishes going through them."

I sighed in relief, but that relief couldn't keep me from wondering what could have exactly happened in her past to cause her to be so scared. Uh oh. I sense a 'but' coming up.

"Buuut…" Porlyusica said. I hate being right.

She continued, "It is worse for Jellal." Curse my luck.

 **The next chapter will continue with Erza's memories and there are a lot of them so they will be spread out over many chapters. Bear with me please.**

 **Draco**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(Erza's PoV)

" _Zerif, huh," I said, "You wouldn't happen to be connected to the rumors I've hears about a dark mage with that name."_

 _He visibly cringed and sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. I am him."_

 _He couldn't be connected to that dark mage. He was too nice. Unless…_

" _Things have changed, haven't they? The rumors paint you as a heartless monster that leaves neither woman nor child and takes pleasure in it. But, since I have been talking with you I have come to the conclusion that you are one of the nicest people I have met, with the exception of Simon and Sima. You must have changed."_

" _You are very close," he said, "I am sure that you have also noticed the times when I have lost control, as they are very obvious by the changing of my eyes from onyx to blood red. The rumors are true, but they are what I was when my magic was in control of me. Ever since Mavis has come into my life, I have been able to control the darkness inside of me. Scratch that, Mavis was the one to chase away the darkness."_

" _Who's Mavis?"_

 _He smiled tenderly, "My light," he replied with a certain softness in his tone that I knew well. Simon and Sima's dad would use it whenever he spoke of their mom._

' _Ooh,' I thought, 'blackmail.' Then I spoke, "So what's your story?"_

" _Geez," I heard him mutter, "pushy much."_

" _Hey!" I replied, "I'm curious!"_

" _Okay, okay," he said, "Just don't kill me when I tell you my past."_

" _Why would I do that?"_

" _You've heard the rumors and they are partly true."_

" _But, you have changed. And I learned a long time ago to never judge people by their past, just how they are now. Also, I understand if you wish to be vague in your story I will not hold it against you. I can see the pain that your past causes you in your eyes"_

" _It's okay. I need to tell someone other than Mavis about my past and you are willing to not hold prejudices because of what my magic has done. Here is the whole truth."_

 _As soon as he started speaking, I had known that he was a born leader. But is story was on a whole different level. His words alone had the power to crush or raise armies. His words beat the rhythm to which we walked._

" _You may now mw but, my family is a mystery. No one knows who I truly am except Mavis and soon you."_

" _Let me guess," I said jokingly, "Your family a fabled and mysterious one that everyone wants to find the secret behind."_

" _Actually, that's very close to being to correct. My full name is Zerif August Dragneel, the crown prince of the fabled country of Alvarez that no one has been able to find out much about."_

 _I'm pretty sure that my jaw hit the ground. "I-I was joking!" I sputtered out._

" _But I am not," he said, seemingly unfazed that I had actually guessed a piece of his past. I was starting to wonder if anything fazed him. Of course the mind reading probably helps to know what is coming._

" _Yes it does." Curse his mind reading._

" _And it's the ability to hear thoughts and you know it. Anyway, as I said, I am the crown prince of Alvarez, making my father the king and my mother the queen. They are both kind and loving parents of both us and their country, but even so the most precious of my family to me is my little brother, Natsu. He is two years my younger and is the biggest bundle of energy you've ever seen. Oh, and obsessed with fire for some odd reason. We had a good life, time with dad and mom in the mornings and evenings and lessons during the day to prepare us for our eventual role in the kingdom. But, Natsu never really took the lessons seriously and would often convince me to ditch with him to go play in the forest or sneak into the city. Honestly, I think that the excursions into the city did more for me than the lessons did. I think that that's why mom and dad never punished us for it. That and both of us still managed to nearly perfect every topic and skill that the tutors introduced us too._

" _But all of that changed the winter of X770, the winter of Dragon Tear. Please don't interrupt; I know what you are thinking, literally. I will explain what Dragon Tear is later._

" _We were caught off guard as it was Alvarez's New Year Festival and everyone was full of hope for the new year. And it was that carelessness that allowed the dragons to infiltrate and take the kids."_

" _How does a dragon infiltrate a place?" I asked, "Aren't they like 50 feet tall with wings, scales, and claws. Oh, and the fire."_

 _He chuckled, "First of all, each dragon looks different and is a different size, though they are all still humongous compared to us. Second, dragons can use elements other than fire. Only one of the dragons on Dragon Tear used fire. Trust me, I should know," he said, rubbing his upper right arm as if it pained him. Well, as good as he could rub it while carrying Simon. He continues soon after. "And third, all dragons have a human form that they can enter at will."_

" _Oh," I said, "Please continue."_

" _Natsu and I had snuck out of the castle to watch the final countdown with all of the other kids, hoping to make a friend or two. We had put on hoodies and jeans so we would not be easily recognized as the princes, especially Natsu as his hair is pink!" he chuckled, "but he always says it's salmon. We then snuck out into the crowds._

" _The countdown had only just begun when Natsu heard a scream off in the distance. He always had very sensitive senses. He had rushed towards the scream and I had struggled to keep up. When we were nearing where the scream was as I guessed because Natsu had started slowing down just a little I got separated from him by the crowds that were panicking now. I had finally had gotten past the crowds when I saw Natsu talking to a man that had spiky red hair and a scarred eye, seemingly having forgotten about the scream. The man was wearing a red t-shirt with yellow and orange accents on it that was hanging loose over a pair of beaten up jeans. He had a pair of scuffed up white tennis shoes, but what alarmed me the most was that he had red iron gauntlets on, the type that almost never broke._

" _I had screamed to Natsu to get out of there but he had simply turned around and smiled at me. Not his normal face-splitting grin, but a smile that showed uncertainty and his eyes held some fear. Flames had surrounded the two and when they had finally extinguished there was no sign of the two of them, but in their place was a note. I picked it up and read it. It said:_

For the family of Natsu,

Do not fear for the child for the reason that I took him was to save him.

I cannot disclose any more information at this time but he will be in safe hands.

This I promise to you and by the honor of the fire dragons which I rule I will use everything in my power to not fail.

He will be returned to you when I have been able to teach him the things that will save him, so do not despair.

-Igneel, The King of the Fire Dragons and member of the Dragon Council

(P.S. I will leave something for those that are severely affected by the temporary disappearance of Natsu but it will only be revealed when you show how much you care for him.)

" _I must have stayed there for at least a half an hour crying my eyes out because I was not sure of the safety of my brother even with the note. When I finally calmed down I looked to the ground and saw that my tears had pooled into one spot on the ground. Intrigued and searching for something to take by mind off what had happened, I stuck my finger into the pool, which began to emit a soft red glow. The glow grew brighter until I was forced to look away lest I risk blinding myself. After a few seconds had passed since I had turned my head, the glow disappeared and I knew so from the absence of light that went through my eyelids. I opened my eyes and in the place of the pool that was there a few seconds ago there were two creatures. The first was a blue kitten that had…tiny wings? And the second was a tiny dragon-like creature that was crimson. The little blue kitten opened his eyes and looked at me for a second before opening his wings and flying away heading towards the forest that covered the west side of Alvarez. I stared after it for a few seconds before turning to the tiny dragon-like creature. It didn't move. So I reached out my hand, picked him up, and brought him to my face. When it was only a few inches from my nose, its little nostrils opened wide as if smelling me. Apparently, he liked my scent or found it right or something as a little grin appeared on his face and he opened his eyes to look at me. Its eyes where pink, or as Natsu would say, salmon, but it was the exact shade of my brother's hair. The sight immediately brought more tears to my eyes and as they fell the floor I felt the magical energy that had happened a few seconds ago start again. I immediately turned away, knowing what would happen, and turned the little creature so that it would not get blinded. As I looked back, I saw another of the little creatures, only this one was midnight black and had pale blonde swirls on it. I picked it up as well but, it did not react. Then, the red one hopped over to the hand that I held the black one on and picked it up, slinging it over his back. He then hopped into one of the pockets of my jeans and, from the vibrations I felt a few seconds later, fell asleep._

" _I smiled, finally realizing what the last part of Igneel's message meant and did not bother looking for Natsu, knowing that the other parts of the massage must be true as well. And while I was confused on what the part about how taking Natsu would save him, I trusted Igneel with the safe-keeping of my brother. I named the day dragon tear because of those little creatures but also as a remembrance that through the times that give us tears we grow. But, my mother and father did not take the situation as well as I did. They sent out search parties for months before giving up. But, they then retired from the throne, leaving it to me. And I was crowned the 47_ _th_ _king of Alvarez._

" _I took my responsibility of running the kingdom seriously, hoping to give Natsu a better home to come back to than the one he left. And, as a result I had a lot of free time on my hands because I took state matters in my own hands and fixed them faster than any other monarch, despite having never paid attention in politics lessons and scaring off a few tutors with my pranks."_

 _I giggled, just imagining the serious man in front of me as a little kid pulling pranks on unsuspecting tutors. He smiled, and then continued his story._

" _In the free time that I earned, I delved into what exactly had happened on Dragon Tear. I found out that a total of eight kids were taken and that someone or some people close to them always got two creatures or Dragon Salamanders as they are known officially, through their tears. I was also able to find out what type of element each dragon used by the note that they always left and the column that caused them to disappear. There were six seven-year-olds, one ten-year old, and one two-year old taken._

" _Taken by the Iron Dragon King, Metalicana, was the son of the city blacksmith. Gajeel Redfox was a sturdy kid with unruly raven hair and an even more unruly temper. Metalicana's human form was a man with silver hair and piercings running up his arms, nose, ears, and in the place of eyebrows, presumably these piercings increase his power. His step-sister, Juvia Lockser, cried her eyes out that night and had two Dragon salamanders appear to her, along with a winged black kitten that took off in the direction of the abandoned mines to the south of the city. The DS that responded to her was silver gray and had raven eyes and the one that didn't respond was raven black with swirls the color of her cerulean hair on it. The silver one also seemed to take a liking to the one that didn't respond as my red one took to the black and blonde one._

" _Then, taken by the Lightning Dragon King, Voltage, was the grandson and adopted brother of a visiting man girl who were able to get past the gates, meaning that they had magic, which was surprising for outsiders. Laxas Dreyar was ten years old and had the body of someone very frail but he has the strength of a man twice his size, and I found that out the hard way. I had met him during one of my excursions out of the castle and had made the mistake of mentioning his size. He also has the heart of a man twice his size. But, he ended up being taken by the human form of Voltage, which is a man with sharp features and a blond buzzcut who was dressed in an army training get-up. A tight beige t-shirt that was tucked into loose camo pants which were in turn tucked into scuffed black combat boots. He was cried over by his adopted sister who oddly was the princess of the nation that he lived in. I believe that the girl ran away from home, but you cannot tell anyone about it, as even I was not supposed to know."_

" _You have my word that I will not tell an untrustworthy soul." I assured him._

" _Okay, anyway, two DS appeared through her tears. I was told that Laxas had summoned a flying cat on his own a few weeks before coming to Alvarez when his mother had died. The cat was electric yellow and had a darker yellow lightning bolt across his right eye. It also had blue spots around his eyes, nose, ear tips, tail tip, and paws. Anyway, the responsive DS was blond colored with eyes that were also blond and the unresponsive one was a shade of green with lighter green swirls on it that were the shade of her hair. I was informed that the one that was unresponsive to her actually responded to one of Laxas's old friends, I think his name was Free or something like that, and that that DS had stayed with him."_

" _Interesting," I muttered, "Could it be that there is a certain person that the one that didn't respond to you was meant to respond to someone else?"_

" _I know that my unresponsive one responded to Mavis and is now never leaves her side, much to this little guy's irk." And saying so a little red creature popped out of sash that Zerif wore around him. It scampered down his arm and onto his hand which Zerif promptly raised so that he wouldn't slip off. It peered at me couriously for a second before scampering back up Zerif and settling into his hair. I found it very hard to take him seriously after seeing that little guy nestled into his hair. Then, I realized something._

" _What a minute!" I shouted, "That's a Dragon Salamander!"_

 _Zerif nodded and then gasped. "What do you mean it looks just like yours?" Right, I forgot again that he could read minds. "Hear thoughts," he corrected me once again._

" _I mean that that little guy looks almost exactly like this little guy." I pulled a little DS out of my skirt pocket that was golden orange and had blond eyes and then proceeded to tell him what had happened._

" _Lucy Heartfelia was my best friend. Her family would sometimes come to Rosemary, my home town, and she would sneak away from her parents to meet with me. I knew her before I even knew Simon and Sima. When it was found out by her family that she had magic, her father had threatened to kill her if she didn't destroy her magic, as it was magic that had killed her mother. Her mother had overextended her magic while protecting the family from an armed burglary. She had sickened then died._

" _Lucy was afraid of her father but was even more scared of losing her magic which was a part of her and a reminder of her mother, so she stood up to her father. Her father had then killed her with his own hands. The next time Mr. Heartfelia came to town I asked him if he knew where Lucy was he told me that she had died. I didn't even think to ask how she had died, I just ran off to the most secluded alley I knew of and cried my heart out. From my tears had come a winged cat that was golden yellow with cream colored spots on it. I think that they were on its right eye, that one looked like a star, tail tip, feet, tips of ears, and another star-like one on it right shoulder. It also had teal eyes. Anyway, the cat had flown off in some direction that I can't remember and then I had been distracted by my pool of tears glowing once again. Out of the glow this time had come this guy." I said, holding my little guy up, "and this one." This time pulling out a motionless DS out of my skirt that was blue with scarlet swirls the color of my hair on it. My little guy immediately jumped hands and poked at the motionless one before sighing and laying down next to it, its head on the other one's back._

" _Did you say Lucy Heartfelia?" Zerif questioned an unreadable emotion in his eyes even for me._

" _Yeah, why?"_

" _Lucy was one of the children that disappeared on Dragon Tear, she had come through the gate about six months ago so we gave her a home with the Eucliffe noble family. The Eucliffe twins and she became like brothers and sister and the funny thing is that the Eucliffe twins were also taken. She was taken by the Queen of the Celestial Dragons, Astra. Astra had left almost the same note as Igneel saying that taking Lucy was saving her, that she would not be harmed and that we would see her again one day when she had finished teaching her the information that would save her."_

" _She isn't dead?" I whispered. I couldn't believe this. I had accepted her as dead for two years. I had surrendered myself to a hole in my heart, and here Zerif was telling me that there was never a need to feel empty in the first place._

 _Zerif nodded, confirming my question, probably along with the unspoken questions in my head._

" _Thank you."_

" _It is just sharing the truth, something that everyone deserves to know. Would you like to know what Astra's human form looked like?"_

 _I nodded._

" _Astra had wild golden orange hair that was held back by a headband made of silver wire stars. She also had silver eyes that seemed to reflect the essence of stars, pure light. Around her right eye was a tattoo of a red five-point star that was centered to the left so that the left side of the star looks like it was 'hidden' by her eye. She was dressed in teal sleeveless kimono that had teal detached sleeves that went down to covering her fingertips. Her skin was pearly as if it reflected the light. The sleeves and neckline of her kimono were outlined by a thin gold ribbon and there was a thick gold ribbon around her waist like a belt. The end of her kimono ended like waves that topped the silver gladiator sandals she wore. On her left exposed shoulder, was another red five-point star, but this one was completely visible. Around her neck was a thin silver chain that held a rose gold key that radiated magical energy. And if I am not mistaken, I believe that Astra and Igneel might just be mates, based on the similarity of their letters."_

" _Thank you."_

" _Oh, and I was informed that there was one other person who received DSs based on Lucy's disappearance. I believe her name was Levy. She got a responsive one that looks just like yours and an unresponsive one that is raven black and has swirls the color of her blue hair on it."_

" _Thank you again for telling me."_

" _Anytime. Would you like me to continue telling you about the other kids taken on Dragon Tear?"_

" _Yes, and would you mind telling me about the Eucliffe twins first?"_

" _I don't mind at all. The Eucliffe twins were named Sting and Ryos, and they were like the sun and the moon they were so different. Sting had spiky blond hair that he wore short and Ryos had longer black hair that he wore so that it covered his right eye. Sting was boisterous and acted a bit like Natsu with his seemingly endless energy while Ryos was serious and so reserved that it was like a once a year occasion to see him smile. They had both snuck out like me and Natsu to see the ball drop with everyone else and were taken by two dragons. One had wild white hair and wore a white suit that was missing the tie and the shirt was untucked, he took Sting, and the other had black hair that was slicked back and wore a crisp black suit, he took Ryos. But, the funny thing was that they both wore sandals, though one pair was white and the other black. I think that you can guess who wore which pair. Anyway, I heard reports of a trio of silver-white haired siblings that they met on one of their parents' business excursions that received DSs through tears. The two youngest, a girl with a pixie cut and a boy, got responsive ones that were a mix of black and white with eyes that were a mix of black and blond. And, the oldest, a girl, got a responsive one that looks similar to Hisui's with the blond coloring and eyes. This one disproved my hypothesis that the responsive ones had the coloring of the dragons that took the kid that they cried for and the eyes of then the hair color of the one that disappeared in their life." He frowned. "I honestly thought that I was onto something there."_

 _I spoke up, "Do you think that it is possible that you were not wrong and that the oldest was crying for Laxas instead of Sting and Ryos because of the similarity between her and Hisui's responsive DSs?"_

" _Oh my gosh I never thought of that! I am such an idiot! I mean I even got a piece of information that Laxas's grandfather was the master of a guild that those three siblings joined! She must have met Laxas and gotten in a good friendship with him!"_

" _It's okay. Everyone makes mistakes." I told him_

" _I'm sorry. It's just that I'm partly a scientist due to my dark formation magic and to overlook a piece of information like that is basically unheard of for me."_

" _I understand. Could you please continue telling me about the trio of siblings?"_

 _Instead of answering he simply slipped back into the story. "The youngest got an unresponsive DS that is dark purple and had swirls the color of her hair. The brother got one that is the color of his hair with caramel swirls on it. And the oldest got one that is blond with swirls the color of her hair on it. Though, the youngest and the brother's unresponsive ones responded to two of the people in the guild. Lisanna's to a boy named Bickslow and Elfman's to a girl named Evergreen. Those two DSs then stayed with the people that they responded to. Only the oldest's has yet to respond to someone._

" _Do you have a theory about the ones that don't respond to the person that summoned them?" I couldn't help but ask._

" _Actually, I do. The colors of the DS that didn't respond are in the following pattern. There are always a boy and a girl so far that the DS respond to. So, the backround color is the hair color of the boy and swirl colors are the hair color of the girl. Then based on the info I have gathered about the unresponsive ones' eye colors is that the eyes are a mix of that person's who responds to the unresponsive DS and your magic."_

" _Magic has a color?"_

" _Not really, but magical auras do and each type of magic has its own color for its aura. Mine for example is black and really dark purple, and I can tell that yours is silver."_

" _Cool, but I can tell that that is not your entire theory."_

" _Correct. The other part of my theory is that the unresponsive DS to you only respond to a person that will end up becoming a way for you to get over the disappearance of the person you were crying for."_

" _Wait, so if this DS," I said, holding up the blue and red one, "Responds to someone, that I will become really close to so that they can help me get over losing Lucy in my life."_

" _Correct."_

" _Okay. Please continue."_

" _Along with the DSs, the youngest and the brother both summoned flying cats as well. The youngest summoned a cat that was green and the brother summoned a cat that was red and had a white belly. Both of the cats flew off in the direction of the forests to the east of the capital city. Now that I think of it, the fact that it was the youngest and the brother that summoned the cats supports your idea that the oldest was crying for Laxas instead of the Eucliffe twins."_

" _How does it support my idea?"_

" _Laxas already had summoned his own cat so there was no need for one of the people close to him to summon it for him."_

" _You think that the cats are for the kids that disappeared?"_

" _I do. I also theorize that the cats can sense where their partner is."_

" _Cool, please continue."_

" _The next kid that disappeared was the two-year old, a girl by the name of Wendy Marvel. She had dark blue hair and was taken when she slipped away from her parents. The dragon that took her was the Queen of the Sky Dragons, Grandeena. Grandeena's human form was a woman with long white hair and a kind expression on both her face and eyes. She wore a sky blue dress that was lined with a white ribbon and white flats. I believe that a sky dragon's power is akin to wind magic but also includes healing and support magic. Anyway, this case of DSs was kind of cute. Wendy's playmate, and boy her age by the name of Romeo, seemed to understand that he wouldn't be able to see Wendy anymore and actually cried over her. First, a white cat appeared and flew of in the direction of the windy cliffs northwest of the capital city. Then, there were two DSs, a responsive one that was white with dark blue eyes and an unresponsive one that was dark brown like his hair and had dark blue swirls. As he grows up he hasn't forgotten Wendy, even though he was only with her for the first two years of his life."_

" _That's sweet," I said._

" _I think so too. Anyway the next one is an orphan named Cobra that was living on the streets. No one knows his real name, only his best friend but she wouldn't tell. Anyway, Cobra had shaggy maroonish-brown hair and somewhat pointed ears. He also had his right eye missing but not even his best friend knew why. He was taken by the Poison Dragon King, Nightshade, whose human form was a thirty-year old man with maroon hair stuck with different herbal leaves and dusty pink ends and pointy ears like Cobra. Nightshade wore a tight dusty purple shirt covered by a loose beige jacket and had black jeans that were ripped at the knees. He wore brown boots that were almost ragged enough to have his toes sticking out and had a single locket around his neck that presumably had herbs in it. His best friend cried for him, a girl named Kinana, and had a cat and two DSs appear to her. The cat was maroon with some dusty pink splotched and took off towards the forests east of the capital city. Then came her two DSs. The responsive one is marron and pink and has maroon-brown eyes and the unresponsive one is maroon-brown and has purple swirls on it the color of Kinana's hair._

 _I spoke up, "I'm glad that you know so much about what happened on Dragon Tear, but there is no way that you could know all that by just being king."_

" _I hate that you are so smart," was the muttered reply I heard._

" _It's called being street smart," I answered._

 _He smiled. "That is to come in the next part of the story, the part of the story that explains why I am known to most people as the_ _ **Dark Wizard**_ _."_


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

(Mira's PoV)

"What do you mean he's in a coma?!" I yelled at Porlyusica. "It was only some icing on a cake! How does it put him in a coma?! Oh man! Erza's gonna kill me!" I was starting to panic, my mind going a mile a minute.

I peeked over at Jellal. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, sure his breaths weren't as deep as a normal person's but, he looked simply asleep. He couldn't be in a coma. 'That's right he couldn't,' I realized.

"You're pulling my leg," I stated, "You have to be. No way does icing on a cake put him in a coma."

"Well," Porlyusica said, "He is, in fact, in a coma, but it is not from your matchmaking scene."

That calmed me down somewhat, but, "Then how did he get in a coma?"

Polrlyusica gave me a look I knew all too well and I felt dread blossom in my stomach. I immediately knew what she meant. Jellal had been put in a coma by magic. But, no one in Fairy Tail would do such a thing. Not to mention that Jellal did not have magic as far as I am aware of. So, why would the Underworld want Jellal taken out for two weeks?

I looked back at Porlyusica and she nodded, confirming my suspicions. Then, her eyes flickered from Laxas, who was still looking at Jellal, and then flickered back to me. She was wondering whether or not Laxas should know about Jellal or not. I mean, he doesn't have a magical aura, or even an aura at all, but he has the gift of emotions, which was only given to those who had an abundance of magical energy. Maybe, we should see how he takes the existence of magic. And a plus is that Erza is not here to yell at me for it, and if it turns out that he has magic and I convince him to join the guild instead of going Rogue then Master wouldn't be mad at me. Yes, this was the opportune time to tell Laxas about magic. I nodded to Porlyusica in confirmation. Let's see where this gets us.

Porlyusica turns to Laxas and clears her throat, getting his attention, before saying, "Jellal was put in a coma by…magic."

I watched Laxas closely as he went stock still as if shocked. The whispered word 'magic' slipped past his lips before he started gasping and gripping his head. 'What,' I thought to myself, 'did he have a memory spell placed on him? They were made illegal except for Mest to use them on wandering drunkards and his spells when removed never caused pain. What exactly happened to Laxas?' Speaking of Laxas, he stumbled back to the wall and cried out before sliding to the floor. 'No. That cry. It couldn't be him. He was taken by a stinking Lightning Dragon and this guy has been at this school forever.' But as soon as that thought entered my mind, the memories of Laxas in my school shattered, and were replaced by the real memories. 'Oh my gosh. A widespread memory replacement on top of Laxas's own memory block takes a lot of magic. Just who did this? According to the real memories he's only been here a few weeks? Does this mean that this Laxas really could be him? After all these years?' My mind was dragged back to reality as Laxas began to hyperventilate and the overhead lights flickered out, casting us into darkness for a few seconds before a new light became apparent. But, it was coming from Laxas. He was giving of an electric yellow aura.

"He does have magic," I whispered, "He's a lightning wielder. Just like my Laxas's great-grandfather." My eyes widened. 'It really could be him.'

With that realization I found myself even more worried about him, and when his eyes went wide, I finally found the strength to move. I rushed toward him as his eyes rolled up into his head, closed, and he went limp against the wall. "Laxas!"

(Erza's PoV)

 _I heard the regret in his voice as he said that last sentence. I again felt a pang that someone so nice had to go through so much. He didn't deserve that name, but I needed to know so that I could maybe help him. "Please continue," I said. He took a deep breath before nodding and doing so._

" _As I already told you, I used my power as the newly crowned King of Alvarez to find out about those affected by Dragon Tear."_

" _And I already told you that I know that that is not how you know all that," I said._

" _Dang it. I was hoping to skip this part of the story, but I suppose that it is important to know why my magic took over. Anyway, about two months after Dragon Tear, there came a girl to the gates of the palace looking for work. I gave her it as I had promised to help everyone I could, but it turned out that this girl was not as she appeared to be. She had a rare form of magic that she had only scratched the surface of. And she was also the receiver of a DS. She kept her name hidden from us but I have a pretty good idea of which one I was. Alas, I cannot tell you, she made me promise to never tell anyone the identity of her magic. Soon after she came, we both got telepathic message telling us to go into the woods east of the entire nation of Alvarez, and us being kids, our natural curiosity got the better of us and we went to where we were told._

" _I left the castle with the girl in the middle of the night; leaving a note for my most trusted advisor briefly explaining what was happening and giving instructions on how to rule the kingdom in my stead. When we arrived at the clearing we were mot with other kids who had received a telepathic massage. The names of the kids gathered there were: Zerif (me), Juvia, Gray, Levy, Hisui, Freed, Romeo, Kinana, the unnamed girl, and Mavis. We kept ourselves busy by telling each other our stories, thus my knowledge of kids who received DSs, until the forest around us erupted in cacophony. Little Romeo, who was two at the time and came with Juvia, was scared so I went to him and picked him up to comfort him. As soon as I picked him up though, out of the forest emerged ten people, if you could call a few of them that. Each of the people had a unique appearance, would you like me to describe them?"_

 _I thought for a moment and then decided that their appearance might be important and said, "Yes."_

" _The first to emerge were a man that was entirely black and seemed to suck the normal light out of the air and a woman whose light which she emitted was the only light that was not swallowed by the man. Both wearing wore no shoes, which was weird in itself. The wierdest thing though is that they were holding hands. 'Talk about opposites attract,' was the main thing on my mind at that moment rather than fear. The next were another man and woman that seemed to be at ease with each other's presence despite the glances they kept peeking at each other when the other wasn't watching. When I looked into their eyes they were clear as crystal and seemed to be a window to the soul. The man brought a cold, shivering wind with him and the grass froze under his feet while the woman left trails of dew wherever she walked and nullified the bitter wind the man brought. All four had weird black marks coverings about half of their bodies. The rest emerged individually. First, a woman with a book under her arm and glasses perched on her nose. Then, another woman with a gilded belt and headdress and a set of silver keys on her hip followed by a man with long bangs that covered his right eyes and a silver ornate sword. Next came a man holding a flute who wore a turban and loose pants and shirt. He had brown hair sticking out at angles from his turban, creating a little bit of a porcupine looking effect. After him, came a man with orange hair that stuck up in spikes and an orange shirt and a loose pair of red pants. These five all had golden marks covering about half of their bodies. Lastly, there came a being whose presence I could only make out by a slight disturbance in the air and the black jumpsuit that she wore._

" _The ten beings came to a stop in front of our group and the dark and light ones, the leaders I presume, began to speak to us. They told us of why we were there and for the ones affected by Dragon Tear they gave us the explanation we had been looking for."_

" _Which is?" I proded him on. Heh, I was getting very into this story._

" _What they said to us was, 'We have called you ten here today to train those who are willing in the magic that was lost centuries ago. Right now, this training is just a precautionary measure, but there will come a time where it will need to be used and we would like to be prepared. We ourselves will not be here to fight this threat that will arrive and wish to pass on our powers to you, but only if you are willing. With this power comes sacrifice, sacrifice that kids your age should never experience. This sacrifice will be the sacrifice of separation. While you complete this training you will not be able to see others then the ones gathered here, as the instability of your magical energy will put those around you in danger unless they are in the same condition. Do you have any questions?'"_

" _A girl on my left spoke up, she had long pale blond hair and a frilly pink and white dress and…no shoes? Her question was simple and it was also on my mind. 'Why us?'"_

" _The dark man answered her, 'Each of you has suffered loss before and for this training you will need to be familiar with that to understand the happiness that only others can bring. As the powers we teach will force you to focus on that in order to not be overtaken.'"_

" _I couldn't hold in my questions anymore, 'But, why do we need to know this? And still, why us? There must be others out in the world that are familiar with that kind of loss.'"_

" _The dark man smiled. "All of you have enough intelligence to understand what we will teach you but most importantly, all of you have enough natural magic power to withstand our training, as out training is particularly magically taxing."_

"' _Oh' Was all I could manage. But, soon I couldn't even manage that."_

"' _Do all of you know of the history of Alvarez and how the world came to deny magic?' came the unexpected question from the light lady. (This will come in a later chapter, don't worry) We all mutely nodded our heads, well except Romeo who smiled. I thought, 'How does a two-year old understand that? Wait, they said that we were all really intelligent. It show from an early age on him. The light lady spoke again, 'Then you will know what we mean when we say that we are the ten beings, or as known in the outside magical world, the then Wizard Saints'" (Again, in a later chapter)_

 _I'm pretty sure that mine and everyone else's jaws hit the floor, disbelief shining obviously in our eyes._

(?'s PoV)

The radio on my belt crackled and I immediately picked it up, anticipating what was to come.

"How was the mission Black Out?" I spoke into it.

Black Out replied, his voice eternally emotionless, "The mission was a success. The target has been nullified for two weeks, giving us enough time to complete our plan without the interference of the son of the heavens, even though he does not know his own importance."

"And you are sure that there is no suspicion due to his state of consciousness." I only felt the tiniest stirring of the spirit of this pathetic body. He was too weak to do anything else, but I will allow him to cling to his hope that he could escape my grip. But, the fact of the matter is, he couldn't.

"Absolutely. I implemented my inner shutdown when one of the girls in his school did a matchmaking scheme on him and another unknown girl that he apparently likes. Everyone believes that he fainted, as the girl fainted as well, to our advantage." I knew that he was finished when he said, "Permission to return to base?"

"Excellent. Permission granted. Twisted Crown out."

"Roger. Black Out out." The radio fell silent.

Despite my careful emotion blocks, a grin overtook my face. But I allowed this one to, as it came from the sick pleasure that filled my veins. Everything was perfect. Well, for me at least. Now, if only the will of this pathetic human vessel would stop fighting me, but it was still perfect. Well so perfect for the rest of the world. As their unknown last hope was unreachable, the Son of the Heavens wasn't able to answer their call.

(Another ?'s PoV)

I felt it the instant his power abate, the Son of the Heavens, my son, was attacked. So the prophecy is coming true, the prophecy that I forespoke.

Flashback:

 _The broom fell from my hands as the mystical power used my vessel, my body. I really wish that they would give me a warning next time, like a tingling of the mark on my arm or something like that. But, no. My mouth moved of its own accord and my son rushed over with my notebook and attached pen to write down everything that I would say, as he knew, even at his young age, that the words uttered from my mouth could protect the world or spell its destruction._

 _ **The child of the magic of the heavens shall be forced into an unnatural slumber,**_

 _ **It will last for as long as it takes for the daughter of war to realize the true nature of the son.**_

 _ **When he awakens, the son will then become the vessel of the power of the heavens**_

 _ **And with the cosmic power provided, he will conquer the crown of the underworld.**_

 _ **The crown's plans will fall to pieces as mangled and twisted as his ideals**_

 _ **And peace shall resound throughout the world and the origin of the power will finally be free.**_

 _When the force released me, I immediately looked to my son to ask for the prophecy that he had copied as I did not know what I had said, but stopped in my tracks when I noticed that he was crumpled on the floor, more affected by the prophecy than I was._

 _I staggered to his side and turned him on his back only to gasp and reel back when I did so. His eyes were shut tight but his right one was surrounded by markings that I knew only meant one thing. My son had been chosen to be a vessel. No. I just couldn't be. I wanted him to have a somewhat normal life with me. But, this ended all of that. And even worse, the star shape of the mark identified what kind of vessel he was. He was the vessel of the heavens, the most deadly one of them, both for others and himself._

 _I gently picked him up and took him over to my bed, my heart clenching at the sight of my son motionless. I wet a cool rag and put it on his head and then went over to my notebook which he had dropped. He had somehow managed to write the entire prophecy down before he had succumbed to the unconsciousness of the choosing of a vessel, his struggle against it evident in the sloppy form of the writing at the end. As I read the prophecy, the dread in my veins increased until my head started to spin and I knew that I had to calm down. But, even my normally effective calming routines only worked half-way. I knew that he was in for trouble as soon as I recognized the mark, but this made it even worse. I didn't want my son to be fighting the underworld. I wanted him safe. Unfortunately, I knew that if I didn't let him face the danger of the underworld then he and the rest of the world would be in an even worse position. Why did the dragons have to choose him? The heavenly power they granted would destroy him if he did not find an anchor. But, at least the prophecy had hinted at his anchor, the daughter of war. Only, who the HECK was that?!_

 _I finally calmed down after realizing that all hope was not lost and began to observe the situation. The prophecy was dangerous to my son if the underworld got their hands on it. We had escaped them so far by living in nature in solitude, moving every year to a new place, but I knew that our luck would run out one day. My husband would eventually find us. He wouldn't give up as long as our son's magic power would continue to be unmatched. The King of the underworld was relentless, but I knew that he was simply possessed; this was not the man I married, that man was suppressed under the hold of that demon, that Mard Geer._

 _I hated that demon with every fiber of my being and would have liked nothing better than to smash his soul to splinters when he took over my husband, but my son was my first priority. He must be protected at all costs, he mustn't be subject to Mard Geer, he mustn't be turned, or the world would be doomed._

 _But all of my careful planning and running was in complete disarray now that my son was a vessel, but not just any vessel, the vessel of the heavens. Stupid dragons, why did they pick my son? I always gave them food and favors when they asked me to because they are noble creatures. So why did they have to ruin my son's life?_

 _A voice came from the doorway that I immediately recognized, "Think about it, Verala. Did we really ruin your son's life or save it." I normally would bow down at this voice, but I was in a very irritable mood, so I simply stood and asked, "Please explain further, King of the Fire Dragons and Head Dragon Council Member." He grumbled. I smiled. I had made extra sure to use his title. "You know I don't like it when you use my title, what happened to just Igneel?" he said as he entered my house, his human form activated. He brushed his red hair out of his eyes and stood with his hands in his pockets. It always amazed me how Igneel could be the Head of the Dragon Council. He was honestly the least formal man I had ever met, and I swear that there were twigs in his hair._

" _Anyway," he said, shaking of my jab from earlier, "For your explanation, Mard Geer will never stop unless someone stops him. And who better to do that, other than the one with the most reason to do so, the drive of seeing his father again will help him to achieve his dream. We both know that he is very headstrong and will take on Mard Geer eventually whether he has the power or not, we have simply given him the power to survive and possibly win the encounter."_

 _I was thankful but still exasperated, "And why couldn't you tell me that you were going to do this? I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that mark."_

 _He snorted, "I did try to tell you a few weeks ago. But, you were short-tempered that day and shooed me out of your house with a broom before I could tell you."_

 _My mouth hung open. "Oh."_

" _Anyway, he should wake up in a day or two. Becoming the vessel of the heavens is even more tiring than becoming an ordinary vessel, and you know how bad that is up close. So, it will be a day or two before he will wake up instead of a few hours." And with that, Igneel transformed back to his true form and opened his wings in preparation to take off. A thought popped into my head and I cried, "Wait!"_

 _Igneel heard me and paused his take off. The inquisitive glance in his eye was more effective than words. "Would the dragons please hold onto this prophecy? It just happened a few minutes before you came and it relates to my son. I feel that it would be safer with the dragons than with me."_

 _Igneel transformed back quickly and snagged the paper from my hand. The confused expression on his face though was enough to scare me. "What's wrong?" I said, "It's just another prophecy from the Dragon of Foresight." As his eyes scanned the paper, he spoke softly to me, "Verala, Profesa never had any foresight about this or anything in the last year."_

" _What! What do you mean this isn't from Profesa? Hers is the only mark I bear, I can't receive prophesies from any other creature or power."_

" _Marks do not limit powers, they expand them. But, it is rare for someone to figure out how to get past the magic of the mark itself, there is no barrier preventing another being from giving you a prophesy."_

" _But, why me?"_

" _You may not know this, but you are the only normal being in existence who has the mark of prophesies. Any and all prophecies given in this age are received by you, not by any other being. This prophesy could only come to you."_

 _My mind was racing, but I settled for one question that seemed more important than the rest. "Who did this prophecy come from?"_

" _From the magic that these words hold, messenger magic, I can think of only one being who could give you a prophesy of this magnitude. You were given this prophecy by an angel, a messenger of the Ultimate King."_

" _But, that means that I won't be able to receive any more prophecies."_

" _Yes, another will be born with the mark of prophecies. But, right now your greatest concern is not prophecies, but your son, as I can sense_ _ **him**_ _."_

 _Only, one being could put that shiver of fear into my spine and only one could cause the normally carefree and kind Igneel to use that tone of hatred. Mard Geer was coming._

 _As the battle ended, I stumbled through the bodies back to my house. Igneel having already gone back to his home in a volcano to treat an injury to one of his eyes. It had looked bad; he might not be able to use it anymore. I sighed. At least I had not seen any of the men enter the house which meant my son was safe. '_ Oh how wrong I was,' I think, looking back on this day.

 _I entered to a quiet house, which was good. And nothing looked out of place. I walked into my bedroom where my son was and opened the door, expecting to see his sleeping face. Only to find nothing in my bed except for a few thorns positioned in a twisted circle, a twisted crowns. There was no blue-haired boy, no scarlet-marked face, just the sign of what had happened. I had failed. Mard Geer had won, he was gone. My son was gone. Mard Geer would surely be able to turn him. That demon knew no bounds. He would physically torture him, and when that didn't work, as I knew it wouldn't, he would mentally torture him. He would use his memories to force my son to join him._

' _No, he didn't have to do that,' I thought, with dismay. I remember when I woke up after getting my mark. He wouldn't remember a thing before he got the mark, he wouldn't remember me, and Mard Geer knew that. He had attacked at the perfect time. He would use the state that my son is in in order to use an illegal mind-control spell on him, one that would only work if the victim's mind holds no memories. He would make my son into an empty shell, he would kill my son._

" _Jellal!" I screamed to the night sky, hoping that simply hearing my voice might be enough to save him._

End Flashback:

I had been reckless that day, shouting into the heavens. I maybe would have been better if I hadn't done that, because what I had hoped for had come to pass, but not in the way I had anticipated. A power greater than mine had gathered my voice held in that scream and had played it to Jellal a few months into him being an empty shell. He had been confused and had confronted Mard Geer at that time about it, and Mard Geer had had no qualms about erasing his memories again and forcing him to work in his child labor camp, toiling all day to build a fruitless endeavor.

No, I can't think like that. If Jellal had never heard my voice then he would be dead. He would be an empty shell at the beck and call of an evil demon. At least, because of my voice, he stood a chance. Even if I knew nothing of how to awaken him, I just had to believe it would happen. And I would know when it would happen too. Such is the ability between those of marks. I would know when the Daughter of War would awaken. I would know when Jellal was again truly my son.

 **Thank you for reading. I know this chapter is confusing, but explanations will come hopefully soon.**

 **-Draco**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the erratic postings, but my dad cancelled my biggest typing time and I've been trying to keep up. I know that this story is confusing at the moment, but I promise that it will get better as I go along. Example: the first chapter sucked, but the second and third are better than that one. As I get into the story, the chapters will continue to get better, I promise. Oh, and just so you know, Jellal is the main hero in this story because I simply love his character. Even though Natsu is tied with him for me, Jellal fit well into this story line, so I hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters (except for Suska[even though she's dead{spoiler}]) they belong to Hiro Mashima.**

Chapter 6

(Laxas's PoV)

 _Magic_

That one word played in my head like a mantra, finding walls that were in my mind that I didn't even know about and knocking them down as if they were nothing.

 _Magic_

As each wall was torn down by that one word, my head lightened and I felt more. I felt everything.

 _Magic_

No, I sensed everything.

Then, those senses became a curse.

White hot pain ripped through my head and I gripped it, stumbling backwards. I vaguely saw Mira's worried face, but was more preoccupied with sagging against the wall that I felt behind me. Another shock of pain ripped through me and I collapsed against the wall.

My throat closed up as if it had swelled and I couldn't supply my body with the oxygen it was so desperately crying out for. My eyes were open, but they might as well have been closed. After I had collapsed against the wall, my eyesight had blanked out into nothing but white, I couldn't see anything around me. A few more seconds of this nonsense pain and my eyes closed and I relinquished myself to the nothingness.

When my eyes opened again, I didn't see the faces of Mira or even Porlyusica. I had opened my eyes to total darkness. Where was I?

(Mira's PoV)

My mind screamed at me to help him and I willingly obeyed, having realized who this Laxas just might be. I slid to my knees beside him as he fell limply to the side and pulled his head into my lap, stroking his hair as Elfman often liked me to do. (Not that he would ever admit that)

I looked up at Porlyusica, and she seemed taken aback by the raw hope that that I knew showed on my face. I smiled up at her, the feelings I had bottled inside for so many years under different masks finally releasing their hold on me. "It's really him," I whispered to her, "I can feel it, I can feel his magic power. He may have found the right magic to work with, like he encouraged me to do, but this magic power is still all his. It's really him. It's really Laxas."

The feelings I had kept inside of me to punish myself for letting him disappear flew out, bringing tears with them. I clutched Laxas, to assure myself that it was really him, and began to let them escape, began to forgive myself. After a few minutes, I collected myself and shakily rose to my feet, struggling to bring Laxas up with me. He really has changed, but mainly physically. How could I not notice it sooner? The way I reacted around him and his gentlemanly way of living. He brought out the old me, the me I missed.

I snorted as a random thought entered my mind. Porlyusica looked at me quizzically before helping me with Laxas, but I knew that she was not only confused about what I had snorted about. Well, let's do a riddle shall we. I had seen the Fairy Tail mark on her arm earlier so I knew that she would know about Laxas Dreyar, but not this Laxas. I knew she would figure it out in no time, as she seemed very smart, but I still wanted to do it. "I bet he wouldn't mind remarks about his size now," I told her.

She blinked at me a few seconds, before I saw the comprehension dawn in her eyes. She whipped her head back and forth between me and Laxas, blinking really fast as she did so, before her eyes finally rested on Laxas and I saw tears start to grow in her them. "Makarov will be so happy. He's been searching for years." she whispered.

"As have I," whispered to myself.

Somehow though, she caught it and gave me a mischievous smirk, to which I promptly blushed, not even knowing why I did

Let's just get the lightning boy home." Her tone slipping back into a cold, hard, business-like one, but the glisten of the remaining tears on her eyes were evidence of how she felt about all of this. She had missed him just as much as the rest of the guild.

' _You mean the rest of the guild minus Makarov and you,'_ a little voice teased in the back of my head. I brushed it aside as just an errant thought, but even I knew that that was not the case. But, for now, getting Laxas to Fairy Tail was the number one priority; I could have time to wrestle with my head later.

….

I stood before the doors of Fairy Tail, the rowdy bar that was the center of the magical community and smiled. The guild just wasn't the same after Laxas had disappeared and I knew that me disappearing to do *ahem* secret things didn't help, but it was still home. I nodded to Porlyusica and she let go of Laxas to open the doors. And a chair flew out. Were Lyon and Gray at it again, yep, I could hear Juvia cheering for Gray. "Polyusica, just ignore them. We have to go see Makarov."

She nodded and came to help me with Laxas again. We staggered into the doorway, held down by his weight even though there were two of us, and barely made it a few feet before Porlyusica collapsed, her older legs giving out on her. Luckily for us, Elfman wasn't too far away from us and when I called to him he immediately left the fight and came over to me.

"What do you need, Nee-san?" he asked me in his deep voice that matched his big muscles.

But, despite his appearance, I just raised my eyebrow at him and retorted, "What does it look like I need help with?" gestering my head at the boy I was carrying and Porlyusica.

"Right," he said, and moved over to help Porlyusica.

I would've facepalmed right then if I could have. My brother was a real idiot sometimes. "Elfman," I said, my tone filled with barely contained impatience, "look at this boy and look at Porlyusica. Which one do you think I will have more trouble carrying if you take one of them?"

He blinked stupidly at me for a moment, before I saw some comprehension in his eyes and he said, "Right, a real man would take the larger so that others don't have to."

I sighed. That man complex of his is really annoying most of the time, but at least it lets him do some things right.

I relinquished Laxas to him and walked over to Porlyusica to help her up. But, before I got to her, she jumped back onto her feet, looking no worse for wear. "Okay," I said, "I guess you don't need help."

"Nope," she replied with a smirk on her face, "I don't. These old bones are mine and they will only give out for a little while before I win again."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said while also thinking, 'I'll also keep in mind to ask Master whether you have a few loose screws or not.'

I shook my head and walked back over to Elfman, asking him to take Laxas to the infirmary. I keep the fact that it was Laxas away from him; I wanted Master to know first.

Once Laxas was situated on the bed well enough for Porlyusica to stop hovering around him, I left the room to get Master, as our entrance went mostly unnoticed by the guild, looking over my shoulder a few times to see a still unmoving Laxas and a smirking Porlyusica.

As I closed the door, I sighed. I would never live that down. Oh, well, time to find Master. First stop, the bar, where he is most likely drunk.

I went down the stairs softly so as to not alert the brawlers of my presence. I didn't need to be drawn into another senseless fight.

When I reached the bottom, I went to the barricade of tables that the non-violents set up. I crawled my way to the bar and stopped right next to Levy, who was reading a book through all of the craziness.

I checked to see if the coast was clear and when I was satisfied I stood up. Only to come face to face with a flying stool.

 _Bonk_.

The fight grew still as the force of my aura filled with rage. The only ones not praying to momma were the non-violents and a few select brawlers, including Gray and Romeo. (Reasons will be explained later) I yelled at the crowd, "Who threw that stool?! Be honest and I promise only minimal pain!"

A tentative Lyon raised his hand. 'Smart choice,' I thought.

"Lyon," I started, my voice deceptively sweet, but he knew better, as he was sweat dropping, "You will help me find the Master and then you will keep everyone out of the infirmary. If you don't then you will be in pain beyond your wildest imaginings. But, as it is, I have more important things to worry about than you." I gave him a sweet smile, my aura still flashing dangerously.

"O-o-kay," he said, going up to the bar and grabbing a drunken Master by the coat and handing him to me. I set him down and he swayed for a few seconds before catching his balance. I could literally feel the relief pouring off of Lyon. I couldn't blame him though. Even though Lisanna's near death and Suska real death to save her had dampened my demon girl act, her coming home hadn't broken all of my habits; I was still a scary demon when mad.

I smiled at Lyon and then dragged both him and Master to the infirmary. I dropped Lyon at the door and gave him a glare the said enough for him to stay put and follow my earlier instructions. I then went inside and set Master down, shaking his shoulders. He sobered up quick when he saw my face, which was getting frustrated at him being drunk know. I know that he started it when Laxas disappeared to try and escape the sorrow, but seriously.

"What do you want, Mira?" he asked me, gesturing to the closed infirmary door, knowing that I wouldn't want to talk to him privately for only a trivial matter.

I felt my heart start to race as I remembered why I was here, after the stool incident I had kind of forgotten. I gave Master a brilliant smile, to which he looked at me curiously.

"I haven't seen that smile since Laxas disappear…" he mumbled before tapering off, his eyes going wide. "Do you mean, that you have information on him?" his face full of hope.

"Even better." I told him cryptically. I knew that he was smart, but I also knew that he wasn't that smart. I grabbed his small wrist and dragged him to Porlyusica's personal room, where she was keeping him. I opened the door and practically pushed Master in, as he was standing still trying to figure out what I had just said.

I walked in, watching Master to see his reaction. He was confused.

"Who's this?" he asked me.

"It's him," I answered him.

Now he looked even more confused. "There is no way that this could be him, this guy's huge."

I face palmed, Laxas's magical energy was completely permeated through the room, and he really didn't sense it subconsciously. "I know and that is why I didn't know that it was him before, he has been going to Fairy Tail's High School for at least a week. But, there was a widespread memory spell placed on the school to make it seem like he has been going there longer than that. Even more, he had a very strong memory spell placed on him, one that was enough to make him forget nearly his entire life and replace it with something else. But, Master, just feel the magical energy, he may have found the right magic for him but this magical energy is still obviously him."

Master looked at me with suspicious eyes before taking a deep breath and concentrating. After a few seconds, those skeptical eyes were replaced with tears as they streamed down his face, but he kept concentrating and I figured out that he was trying to figure out what had happened to him.

When his eyes opened, they were somewhat cloudy before they cleared up and started pouring more tears, a smile spreading across his face at the same time. "The memory spell is breaking, when he wakes up he will remember everything about us."

My face started to burn as I thought about _that_. "Everything?" I questioned.

He looked back at me and saw my burning cheeks. He gave me a sly smile and said, "Yes, everything. Now, I'm going to go back with everyone while you can stay with him. Don't get too excited."

"Master!" I yelled at his snickering, retreating back. He went out of the infirmary and then closed the door. I almost didn't catch his instructions but I heard him say, "Mira, lock the door with a spell. We don't need Laxas to be trampled if anyone figures out that he's here and tries to get in to see him. They can wait until he wakes up."

"Okay!" I hollered through the door. His shuffling footsteps told me that he had heard me and I set to work performing the spell.

My hands moved together to replicate a lock and my eyes grew gray. After I felt the required magical energy build up inside of me, I released it with the words, _E_ _t_ _P_ _roximus_ _S_ _ecat_ _._

I felt the magical energy fuse with the door and then reach out to the edges of the door. When the energy was all at the edges it solidified, replicating a solid wall. I breathed out, releasing the magical energy that I hadn't used, and smiled. No one short of Master could undo that spell. I went back over to Laxas and grabbed the bowl of water and rag that Porlyusica had left and put the rag on Laxas's forehead after wetting it. He didn't have a fever, but if I didn't do something I was gonna go crazy. 'Oh great,' I thought to myself, 'Laxas was right; I do have a habit of running my words together when I get excited.'

Well, at least there was a good reason to get excited this time. He was finally back after eight years. Hopefully, he would tell us what he was doing and where he was, but all I cared about was that my best friend was back home.

 _Bump._

And it was gonna be funny to hear the guild try to get past my spell for the next few hours to figure out just what was happening in the infirmary. That was about how long it should take for the memory spell on Laxas to completely vanish if I had correctly interpreted the amount of pain Laxas was in earlier. He was right about one other thing too. It is amazing how many types of books Freed has. However, Laxas had always been good at hiding the amount of pain he was in. Maybe it would be longer than a few hours.

 _Bump, bump._

Yep, this was gonna be fun.

 **Just a head up, but the next few chapters are going to be Laxas's memories and then I am going to finish up on Erza's. Sorry that there are a lot of memories to go through, but I find that memories are easier to work with then starting it in the past and navigating through characters and then a time skip, so sorry. After Laxas's and Erza's memories I might have one on Jellal's or I might leave his as a mystery, so bear with me through those, but afterwards it is going to get awesome. You just need the info in these earlier chapters to understand everything. I can't wait to write Mira's DS reaction, so keep tuned.**

 **P.S. Everyone who is young enough in Fairy Tail goes to the local high school that they own, Master's orders, so I am going to have some high school scenes. Sorry, to tempting to resist. I want to have Natsu complain in school (even though he's not at Fairy Tail yet** :`( **) And Master is the principal of the school, but he often skimps on his duty, leaving Mavis to do his job (yes, Zerif did rescue her [spoiler]), hence the reason he was at the bar drunk when Mira got there with Laxas, even though it was only a little after lunch time. Thanks for reading. Oh, and the spell was the words Close and Lock in Latin. Many of the spells I make up will be like that. Enjoy.**

 **Draco (GeminiMeteor)**


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